Dirty Tech: Hand-Grenade Booby Trap
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At TL4-5, grenadiers normally prepare their own HAND GRENADES grenades just before going into action. At TL6-8, hand Hand grenades first appear at TL4: hollow cannonballs grenades require little preparation but come unprimed. – or containers made of pottery or heavy glass – filled with Grenade and detonator are shipped separately, and only about a quarter-pound of gunpowder and fitted with a combined before combat (10 seconds per grenade). length of burning fuse (p. 187). They’re a favorite naval Except as noted below, all hand grenades are activated weapon at TL4-5, as they have a devastating effect on the by pulling out the safety pin with its attached ring and let- crowded decks of a warship . and a grenade in the pow- ting the arming handle fly off (a Ready maneuver). The fuse der magazine can sink a vessel that might withstand hours doesn’t begin to act until the handle is released, but the of pounding by cannon. Grenades of this type gradually dis- handle need move only a fraction of an inch. The pin can appear as firearms and artillery improve, although special- be reinserted. ists such as combat engineers continue to use them until Veteran fighters often “cook off” a hand grenade by let- TL6, especially for sieges. ting the arming handle fly off, taking two Wait maneuvers, Modern hand grenades result from the perfection of and then throwing the weapon. With a four-second fuse, time and impact fuses at mid-TL6. Historically, WWI this leaves no time for a defender to pick it up and throw it played a decisive role in reestablishing grenades as impor- back (see p. B410). If a critical failure on Throwing causes tant infantry weapons – almost all militaries (re-)intro- the attacker to drop a cooked-off grenade, he may have no duced them during and after the Great War. This era saw time to pick it up! the development of the most common subtypes: Diving on a live grenade is often portrayed in film and fiction as the ultimate sacrifice by a soldier for his com- • Concussion grenades have little or no fragmentation, rades (see pp. B377, 415). relying on the blast of their explosive filler. Their small casualty radius allows use while advancing (that is, on the Grenade à Main (France, 1670-1850) offensive, which is why these are also called offensive The Grenade à Main (simply “hand grenade”) was the grenades). There may still be incidental fragmentation main weapon of French grenadiers for two centuries: a 4- (p. B415) if a concussion grenade explodes on a hard sur- pounder iron ball, about 3.2” across, with a removable face (such as asphalt), in a pile of scrap metal, etc. screw-plug for loading the powder. The plug held the fuse – • Fragmentation grenades propel fragments farther than a short length of match (p. 187). Other militaries fielded they can be thrown, so the thrower needs cover (such as a similar designs. Use of these unreliable and somewhat defensive position, which is why these are also called defen- fumble-prone grenades declined during the 18th century sive grenades). These are the most common hand grenades. but never quite broke off until the late 19th century. • Incendiary grenades contain phosphorus (pp. 172, The grenadier had to light the fuse prior to throwing the 188), thermite (p. 188), or a similar burning agent. While grenade (a Ready maneuver). This was impossible in rain, primarily used to create smoke, they’re sometimes etc. A typical fuse burned for around five seconds. employed against personnel or to destroy artillery, maps, The Grenade à Main Mle 1882 (1882-1914) was the same radios, vehicles, etc., at immediate risk of falling into basic grenade given a mechanical time fuse for improved enemy hands. safety and reliability (Malf. 16): Wt. 2.6, Fuse 5. It was • Smoke grenades produce smoke for concealment or armed by pulling a ring (a Ready maneuver). This weapon signaling. The smoke isn’t harmful to humans and animals, was still in use during WWI. although its aroma is a little unpleasant. Stielhandgranate (Germany, 1915-1928) Various nonlethal grenades for police operations (e.g., During WWI, the Germans adopted a style of concus- riot control) appear at TL7-8. sion grenade that remained standard until the end of WWII: the Stielhandgranate (“stick hand grenade”). Americans nicknamed it the “Potato Masher” after its appearance. German military influence manifested itself in Dirty Tech: similar or identical patterns in Bolivia, China, Finland, and elsewhere. Hand-Grenade The long wooden handle gave good leverage for a throw, Booby Trap compensating for the extra weight (+2 ST to figure dis- tance; see p. B355). It also made the grenade awkward to Booby traps involving hand grenades are com- carry and hide; German soldiers stuck it in their belt or mon in guerrilla warfare. A classic example – widely even their boot, and improvised carriers from sandbags. To encountered during the Vietnam War – is a fragmen- activate the grenade before throwing, the user twisted the tation hand grenade placed inside a can fixed to a end cap off the handle and pulled sharply on the string stake or a tree. The can is tilted downward so that a little pressure from the tripwire (p. 203) causes the inside (two Ready maneuvers). grenade to slide out of the can, releasing the arming Several models existed during WWI and the interwar lever. The grenade explodes seconds later. Setting years. During WWII, the standard type was the StiHGr24 such a trap takes a couple of minutes and requires a (1928-1945), filled with TNT rather than black powder: roll against Soldier or Traps+4. Dmg 7d cr ex, Wt. 1.4. From 1943, one in three had a detachable 0.3-lb. fragmentation sleeve: Dmg 5d [2d] cr ex, Wt. 1.7. A 33-lb. case held 15. 190 WEAPONRY.